Sunday 10 January 1971 Members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) carried out an early form of 'punishment attack' by
tarring and feathering four men who were accused of criminal activities in Catholic areas of Belfast. ['Punishment beatings', and 'punishment
shootings' (were people were shot in the knee or elsewhere on
the body with intent to wound but not kill) were to become a continuous
feature of the conflict in Northern Ireland and were used by both
Republican and Loyalist paramilitary groups.]

Sunday 17 January 1971 At an Ard Fheis (party conference)
in Dublin the Official Sinn Féin ended the 65 year abstentionist
policy and agreed that any elected representative could take their
seat at the Dáil, Stormont or Westminster parliaments.
It was this issue that caused the split between the Official
and Provisional movement in Republicanism. The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) exploded a bomb at the Daniel O'Connell monument at Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin, Republic of Ireland.

Monday 18 January 1971 James Chichester-Clark, then
Northern Ireland Prime Minister, attended a meeting in London
with Reginald Maudling, then British Home Secretary.

Wednesday 20 January 1971 It was announced that an independent commissioner would decide on the boundaries of the
new district council areas.

Wednesday 3 February 1971 There were a series of house
searches by the British Army (BA) in Catholic areas of Belfast. Serious
rioting and gun battles took place during the searches.

Thursday 4 February 1971 Vernon Erskine-Crum, a Lieutenant-General,
became General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the British Army (BA) in
Northern Ireland.
[ Law Order. ]

Saturday 6 February 1971First Soldier Killed The Irish Republican Army (IRA) shot and killed Gunner
Robert Curtis, the first British soldier to die during the current
conflict. Bernard Watt (28), a Catholic civilian, was shot and
killed by the British Army (BA) during street disturbances in Ardoyne,
Belfast. James Saunders (22), a member of the IRA, was shot and killed by the British Army during a gun battle near the Oldpark Road, Belfast.

Monday 8 February 1971 The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) exploded a bomb at the statue of Wolf Tone in St Stephen's Green, Dublin, Republic of Ireland.

Tuesday 9 February 1971 Five men, two of them British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) engineers, the others construction workers, were killed near a BBC transmitter on Brougher Mountain,
County Tyrone in a landmine attack carried out by the Irish Republican
Army (IRA). [It was believed that a British Army (BA) mobile patrol, which had been visiting the site, was the intended target.]

Monday 15 February 1971 A British soldier died seven days after being mortally wounded in an Irish Republican Army (IRA) attack.

Thursday 25 February 1971 The Housing Executive (Northern Ireland) Act became law. The Act provided for the establishment for a central authority for public sector housing in Northern Ireland and to also oversee the provision of grants for improvement to the private sector. James Chichester-Clark, then Northern Ireland Prime Minister, held a meeting with William Conway, then Catholic Cardinal of Ireland; the first such meeting between men holding these offices since 1921.

Friday 26 February 1971 Two Royal Ulster Constabulary
(RUC) officers, Cecil Patterson (45) and Robert Buckley (30),
were shot and killed by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) while
on a mobile patrol in the Ardoyne area of Belfast.

Sunday 28 February 1971 A British soldier died in Derry as a result of inhaling chemicals from fire extinguisers that were used to put out a fire inside the vehicle he was travelling in. The vehicle had been attacked with petrol bombs.

Tuesday 2 March 1971 Harry Tuzo, then a Lieutenant-General,
replaced Vernon Erskine-Crum who had been appointed General Officer
Commanding (GOC) of the British Army (BA) in Northern Ireland on 4
February 1971, but who had suffered a heart attack. [Erskine-Crum
died on 17 March 1971.]

Thursday 4 March 1971 The first meeting of the
Northern Ireland Housing Executive was held at Stormont. [The
headquarters and regional offices of the NIHE were to be the target
of paramilitary attacks on many occasions during 'the Troubles'.]

Monday 8 March 1971 Members of the Official Irish
Republican Army (OIRA) engaged in a gun battle with members of the
Provisional IRA (PIRA). One man was killed. The feud between the two wings of the IRA had
been developing ever since the Republic movement split on 11 January 1970.

Wednesday 10 March 1971 Dougald McCaughey (23), Joseph
McCaig (18) and John McCaig (17), all three members of the Royal
Highland Fusiliers (a regiment of the British Army; BA), were killed
by members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The soldiers were
off-duty and lured from a pub where they had been drinking. Their
bodies were found at Squire's Hill, in the Ligoniel area of Belfast.
[There was widespread condemnation of the killings and increased
pressure on Chichester-Clark, then Northern Ireland Prime Minister,
to take a tougher line on security in the region.]

Friday 12 March 1971 Thousands of Belfast shipyard
workers took part in a march demanding the introduction of Internment
for members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

Tuesday 16 March 1971 James Chichester-Clark, then
Northern Ireland Prime Minister, went to London for a meeting
with Edward Heath, then British Prime Minister, about the security
situation in Northern Ireland. [An additional 1,300 troops were
later sent to the region, a response which was considered inadequate
by Unionists. On 20 March 1971 Chichester-Clark resigned partly
because of the lack of a British response.]
[ Law Order, Internment. ]

Wednesday 17 March 1971 Vernon Erskine-Crum, who
had been appointed General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the British
Army in Northern Ireland on 4 February 1971, died as a result
of heart disease.

Saturday 20 March 1971 James Chichester-Clark resigned
as Northern Ireland Prime Minister in protest at what he viewed
as a limited security response by the British government.

Tuesday 23 March 1971Faulkner Became Prime Minister Brian Faulkner succeeds as
Northern Ireland Prime Minister after defeating William Craig
in a Unionist Party leadership election. [Faulkner's tenure of
office was to prove very short.]
The Local Government Boundaries (Northern Ireland) Act became
law. The Act provided for the appointment of a Boundaries Commissioner
to recommend the boundaries and names of district council and
ward areas.

Thursday 25 March 1971 James Callaghan, then shadow
Home Secretary, spoke at a rally of the Northern Ireland labour
movement but rejected calls for the Labour Party to open membership
to those living in Northern Ireland.

Tuesday 6 April 1971 During a debate at Westminster
on Northern Ireland, Harold Wilson, then leader of the Labour
Party, claimed that a draft Bill for the imposition of direct
rule existed.

Saturday 10 April 1971 The Republican commemorations
held in Belfast of the Easter Rising (in 1916 in Dublin) provided
an opportunity to gauge public support for the two wings of the
Irish Republican Army (IRA). The march organised by the Official
movement appeared only to attract half the level of support as
that organised by the Provisionals.

Sunday 25 April 1971Cenus The Northern Ireland census
was held. [Various reports based on the census were published
over the next few years. The total population was enumerated
at 1,519,640. A large number of people (142,500) refused to state
their religious denomination. This meant that the percentage
of Catholics recorded as 31.4% (477,921) was a minimum figure.
Statistical estimates of the probable size of the Catholic population
put the figure at 36.8% (559,800), (see Compton and Power, 1986).]

Thursday 13 May 1971 The decision to appoint a Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland was announced.

Saturday 15 May 1971 William 'Billy' Reid, an IRA member, was shot dead by British soldiers in Belfast. [According to 'Lost Lives' Reid was the person who fired the shot which killed Robert Curtis, the first British soldier to be killed in 'the Troubles', on 6 February 1971. Reid is reported as having been killed on Curtis Street near the centre of Belfast.]

Saturday 22 May 1971 A British soldier was killed by members of the Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA) in Belfast.

Tuesday 25 May 1971 A British soldier was killed in an Irish Republican Army (IRA) bomb attack on the joint Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) / British Army (BA) base on the Springfield Road in Belfast.

Monday 24 May 1971 There was more violence in
Belfast which was to continue sporadically throughout the summer.

Sunday 13 June 1971 In defiance of a government
ban, members of the Orange Order attempted to march through the
mainly Catholic town of Dungiven, County Londonderry. There was
a riot between the marchers and members of the British Army (BA) and
the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC).

Friday 18 June 1971 Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and Nationalist Members of Parliament (MPs) refuse to attend the state opening of Stormont.

Wednesday 22 June 1971 A system of committees to
oversee control of key government departments was proposed by
Brian Faulkner, then Northern Ireland Prime Minister. This system
was seen as a way of providing a role for opposition parties at
Stormont. [The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) initially
welcomed the proposal but events were to result in the withdrawal
of the SDLP from Stormont.]
[ Political Developments. ]

Tuesday 6 July 1971
A member of the Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA) was killed in a premature explosion in County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland.

Thursday 8 July 1971Two Men Killed by British Soldiers Seamus Cusack (28), a Catholic civilian, was shot and mortally wounded by a British soldier during street disturbances at Abbey Park, in the Bogside area of Derry. The shooting happened at approximately 1.00am and Cusack died in Letterkenny Hospital at approximately 1.40am. [The British Army later claimed that Cusack had been armed with a rifle but local witnesses denied this.] The death of Cusack led to further disturbances in the Bogside and at approximately 3.15pm Desmond Beattie (19), a Catholic civilian, was shot dead by British soldiers at Lecky Road. Again the circumstances of the shooting were disputed.
[The British Army later claimed that Beattie was about to throw a nail bomb when he was shot; local people insisted he was unarmed at the time of his killing.] The rioting in Derry intensified
following the two deaths.
[The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) withdrew from Stormont on 16 July 1971 because no official inquiry was announced into the killings. An unofficial Inquiry was chaired by Lord Gifford (QC), an English barrister, and assisted by Paul O'Dwyer, an American lawyer, and Albie Sachs, a South African lawyer. The Inquiry was held at the Guildhall, Derry, but the British Army (BA) and the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) refused to participate. The Report of the Inquiry was published in August 1971.]

Sunday 11 July 1971 The Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded a number of bombs in the centre of Belfast injuring a number of people. [A number of commentators saw these bombs as an attempt to increase tension and confrontations between the two main communities.]

Monday 12 July 1971 A British soldier was shot dead in Belfast. The main Orange Order parades across Northern Ireland passed off relatively peacefully.

Friday 16 July 1971 The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) withdrew from Stormont because no inquiry
had been announced into the shooting dead of Seamus Cusack and Desmond Beattie in Derry on 8 July 1971.
[ Political Developments; Law Order; Victims. ]

Thursday 5 August 1971 There was a debate at Westminster
on the situation in Northern Ireland. Brian Faulkner, then Northern
Ireland Prime Minister, met with Edward Heath, then British Prime
Minister, and Harry Tuzo, then General Officer Commanding the
British Army (BA), in London to discuss the security situation.
[ Political Developments. ]

Monday 9 August 1971Internment, 17 People Killed In a series of raids across Northern Ireland, 342 people were
arrested and taken to makeshift camps as Internment was re-introduced in Northern Ireland. There was an immediate upsurge of violence and 17 people were killed during the next
48 hours. Of these 10 were Catholic civilians who were shot dead
by the British Army (BA). Hugh Mullan (38) was the first Catholic
priest to be killed in the conflict when he was shot dead by the
British Army as he was giving the last rites to a wounded man.
Winston Donnell (22) became the first Ulster Defence Regiment
(UDR) solider to die in 'the Troubles' when he was shot by the
Irish Republican Army (IRA) near Clady, County Tyrone.
[There
were more arrests in the following days and months. Internment
was to continue until 5 December 1975. During that time 1,981
people were detained; 1,874 were Catholic / Republican, while
107 were Protestant / Loyalist. Internment had been proposed
by Unionist politicians as the solution to the security situation
in Northern Ireland but was to lead to a very high level of violence
over the next few years and to increased support for the IRA. Even members of the security forces remarked on the drawbacks of internment.] [ Internment. ]

Tuesday 10 August 1971 During the 9 August 1971
and the early hours of the 10 August Northern Ireland experienced
the worst violence since August 1969. [Over the following days
thousands of people (estimated at 7,000), the majority of them Catholics,
were forced to flee their homes. Many Catholic 'refugees' moved
to the Republic of Ireland, and have never returned to Northern
Ireland.]

Wednesday 11 August 1971 Four people were shot dead in separate incidents in Belfast, three of them by the British
Army (BA), as violence continued following the introduction of Internment.

Sunday 15 August 1971Campaign of Civil Disobedience The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) announced that it was starting a campaign
of civil disobedience in response to the introduction of Internment. The SDLP also withdrew their representatives from a number of public bodies.

Monday 16 August 1971 Over 8,000 workers went on
strike in Derry in protest at Internment. Joe Cahill, then Chief
of Staff of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), held
a press conference during which he claimed that only 30 IRA men
had been interned.

Wednesday 18 August 1971 Eamon Lafferty (20), a member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), was shot dead by the British
Army (BA) during a gun battle in the Creggan area of Derry. Eamon McDevitt (24), a Catholic civilian who was deaf and dumb, was shot dead by the British Army in Strabane, County Tyrone.
[ Internment. ]

Thursday 19 August 1971 The British Broadcasting
Corporation (BBC) was accused of political bias by the then British
Minister of Defence, Lord Carrington. [This was the first of
many direct and indirect attempts by successive British governments
to influence the way the media reported the conflict in Northern
Ireland.]
[ Political Developments; Internment. ]

Sunday 22 August 1971 Approximately 130 non-Unionist
councillors announced their withdrawal from participation on district
councils across Northern Ireland in protest against Internment.

Monday 23 August 1971 A British soldier was killed by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in Belfast.
[ Internment. ]

Wednesday 25 August 1971 Henry Beggs (23), a Protestant
civilian, was killed when the Irish Republican Army (IRA) planted
a bomb at the Northern Ireland Electricity Service office on the
Malone Road in Belfast. Gerry Fitt, then Leader of the Social
Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), held a meeting with representatives
of the United Nations at which he presented a number of allegations
of brutality by the security forces in Northern Ireland.

Tuesday 31 August 1971 An inquiry into allegations of brutality by the security forces against those interned without
trial was announced. [The report of the inquiry, the Compton Report was published on 16 November 1971.] A British soldier died one day after being mortally wounded in Belfast.

(?) September 1971 A number of Loyalist Defence
Associations came together and formed the Ulster Defence Association
(UDA). [The UDA was to quickly become the largest of the Loyalist
paramilitary organisations in Northern Ireland. The smaller Ulster
Freedom Fighters (UFF), which was responsible for many sectarian
killings, was considered a cover name for the UDA. Indeed the
UDA was a legal organisation between 1971 and 11 August 1992 when
it was finally proscribed.]

Wednesday 1 September 1971 The Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded a series of bombs across Northern Ireland injuring
a number of people.

Thursday 2 September 1971 There were further Irish Republican Army (IRA) bombs across the region including one in
Belfast which wrecked the headquarters of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). The explosions resulted in further injuries to a number of people.
[ Political Developments. ]

Sunday 5 September 1971 The Army Council of the Irish
Republican Army (IRA) proposed the idea of a nine county Ulster
Assembly (Dáil Uladh) in a set of constitutional proposals
which were reported in Republican News on 11 September
1971. The Assembly was to be one of four regional Assemblies
covering the whole of any future united Ireland. The fact that
the Ulster Assembly would have a Unionist majority was considered
as meeting Unionist concerns over being "swamped" in
any new Republic.

Monday 6 September 1971 A 14 year old girl was shot dead by a British soldier in Derry. Edward Heath, then British
Prime Minister, met with Jack Lynch, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime
Minister), at Chequers in England to discuss the situation in
Northern Ireland. William Craig and Ian Paisley spoke at a rally at Victoria Park
in Belfast before a crowd of approximately 20,000 people. They
called for the establishment of a 'third force' to defend 'Ulster'.
[This was taken to mean the establishment of a paramilitary force
in addition to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and British
Army.]

Sunday 12 September 1971 A statement on Internment,
violence and the ill-treatment of detainees was released by the
William Conway, then Catholic Cardinal of Ireland, and six Bishops.
In a statement Cardinal Conway asked, 'Who wanted to bomb one
million Protestants into a United Ireland?'

Monday 13 September 1971 Two Loyalists, James Finlay (31) and John Thompson (21), were mortally injured when the bomb they were preparing exploded prematurely in a house in Bann Street, Belfast. Finlay died on 21 September 1971, and Thompson died on 12 October 1971. Details of victim;

Tuesday 14 September 1971 Two British soldiers, Martin Carroll (23) and John Rudman (21) were killed in separate shooting incidents in Derry and Edendork, near Coalisland, County Tyrone. Another soldier was seriously injured during the incident in Derry which took place at the Army base in the old Essex factory. [A Catholic civilian was shot dead in the early hours of the next morning from the same Army base.]

Wednesday 15 September 1971 A Catholic civilian,
William McGreanery (43), was shot dead by a British soldier in the early hours of the morning as he made his way home. McGreanery was at the junction of Westland Street and Lone Moor Road when he was shot by a soldier in a sanger in the Army base in the old Essex factory. The soldier who shot him made a statement at the time stating he had fired at a man aiming a rifle at his post. Friends and eyewitnesses said that Mr. McGreanery was unarmed when he was shot.
[On 20 June 2010 a Historical Enquires Team (HET) report into the shooting concluded that: "It is the view of the HET that he was not pointing a rifle at the soldier at the time. He was not involved with any paramilitary organisation, he was not carrying a firearm of any description, and he posed no threat to the soldiers at the observation post." What was also revealed during the HET investigation was that the soldier shot dead on 14 September 1971 had two close relatives also serving in Derry at that time. One of them was in the same Army base in the old Essex factory and the other in Drumahoe just outside the city.] A British soldier died one day after being shot in Belfast.

Thursday 16 September 1971 A number of Unionists resigned over the proposed tripartite talks involving Northern Ireland,
Britain, and the Republic of Ireland. The body of a man was found in Belfast; he had been shot.

Thursday 23 September 1971 Two members of the Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA) were killed in a premature bomb explosion.
[ Law Order. ]

Sunday 26 September 1971 David Bleakley resigned as
Minister of Community Relations in protest over the introduction
of Internment and the lack of any new political initiatives by
the Northern Ireland government.
[ Political Developments. ]

Monday 27 September 1971 There was a series of tripartite
talks, over two days, involving the prime ministers of Northern
Ireland, Britain, and the Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) of
the Republic of Ireland, which took place at Chequers, England.
[ Political Developments. ]

Wednesday 29 September 1971 Two Protestant civilians, Alexander Andrews (60) and Ernest Bates (38), were killed in an
explosion at the Four Step Inn on the Shankill Road in Belfast, no group claimed responsibility but it was believed to be the responsibility of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA).
[ Political Developments. ]

Sunday 3 October 1971 A man was shot dead during an attack by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) on a British Army (BA) foot patrol.

Monday 4 October 1971 A British soldier was killed when the Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA) carried out a bomb attack on a British Army (BA) observation post in Belfast..

Tuesday 5 October 1971 A new sitting of the Northern
Ireland parliament at Stormont began. However the Social Democratic
and Labour Party (SDLP) was absent due to its continuing protest against Internment. The SDLP met in an alternative
assembly at Strabane town hall.

Thursday 7 October 1971 Brian Faulkner, then Northern
Ireland Prime Minister, met with Edward Heath, then British Prime
Minister, and the British Cabinet. The meeting was held in London.
An additional 1,500 British Army troops were sent to Northern
Ireland.

Sunday 17 October 1971 A British soldier was killed by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in Belfast. Another soldier died two days after he was mortally wounded. A Catholic man was shot dead by the British Army in Belfast. It was estimated that approximately 16,000 households were withholding rent and rates for council
houses as part of the campaign of civil disobedience organised by the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP). The campaign was in protest against Internment and had begun on 15 August 1971.

Tuesday 19 October 1971 A group of five Northern
Ireland Members of Parliament (MPs) began a 48 hour hunger strike
against Internment. The protest took place near to 10 Downing
Street in London. Among those taking part were John Hume, Austin
Currie, and Bernadette Devlin.

Wednesday 20 October 1971 Edward Kennedy, then a Senator
in the United States Congress, called for a withdrawal of British
troops from Northern Ireland and all-party negotiations to establish
a United Ireland.

Saturday 23 October 1971 Two female members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), Maura Meehan (30) and Dorothy Maguire
(19), were shot dead by the British Army (BA) in the Lower Falls area of Belfast. The two women had been travelling the area warning
people of British Army raids on houses. [The two women were the first members of Cumann na mBan to die in the conflict.] Three Catholic civilians, Sean Ruddy (28), James McLaughlin (26)
and Robert Anderson (26), were shot dead by the British Army during an attempted robbery in Newry, County Down.

Sunday 24 October 1971 A member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) was shot dead by undercover Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers during a bomb attack in Belfast. Ruairi O'Brady, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), addressed a SF Ard Fheis in Dublin and
said that the North of Ireland must be made ungovernable as first step in achieving a united Ireland.

Monday 25 October 1971 A man died two days after being shot during an Irish Republican Army (IRA) attack on the British Army (BA) in Belfast.

Tuesday 26 October 1971 A man was found shot dead in Belfast. An Assembly, attended only by Nationalist politicians, and acting as an alternative to Stormont, met in Dungiven Castle. [The Assembly only ever met on two occasions.]

Wednesday 27 October 1971 David Tilbury (29) and Angus Stevens (18), both members of the British Army (BA), were killed by
the Irish Republican Army (IRA) during an attack on their observation post in Rosemount, Derry. Ronald Dodds (34), a Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officer, was shot dead by the IRA near Toome, County Antrim. David Powell (22), a member of the British Army, was killed by a landmine planted by the IRA at Kinawley, County Fermanagh. A man was found shot dead in Dublin in an apparent internal Saor Eire dispute. Gerard Newe, was appointed as Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Department at Stormont. He was the first Catholic to serve in any Northern Ireland government since 1920 and was appointed by Brian Faulkner, then Northern Ireland Prime Minister. Newe was appointed to try to improve community relations.

Thursday 28 October 1971 A man was shot and mortally wounded, as he stood at the front door of his house, by a British soldier.

Sunday 31 October 1971 A man died two days after being mortally wounded by a British soldier A British soldier died three days after being mortally wounded by members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in Belfast. A man was found shot dead in Belfast. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded a bomb at the Post Office Tower in London. [At the time part of the tower was open to members of the public and was a London tourist attraction. The public area was closed following the attack and did not reopen.]

Monday 1 November 1971 Stanley Corry (28) and William Russell (31), both members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),
were shot dead by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in the Andersonstown area of Belfast.

Tuesday 2 November 1971 The Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded two bombs on the Ormeau Road in Belfast, one at
a drapery shop and the other at the Red Lion bar, and killed three Protestant civilians; John Cochrane (67), Mary gemmell (55) and William Jordan (31).

Thursday 4 November 1971 British soldiers shot dead a man in Belfast. A British soldier died seven weeks after being mortally wounded in Belfast. Brian Faulkner, then Northern
Ireland Prime Minister, went to London for a meeting with Harold
Wilson, then leader of the Labour Party, and James Callaghan,
then shadow British Home Secretary.

Saturday 6 November 1971 Kathleen Thompson (47) was shot dead by British soldiers as she stood in garden in the Creggan area of Derry.

Sunday 7 November 1971 An off duty British soldier was shot dead by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in an attack in Lurgan, County Armagh. Another soldier was injured in the same attack.

Thursday 11 November 1971 Two Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers were shot dead by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in Belfast. [One of the officers was a Catholic and was the first Catholic member of the RUC to be killed during the conflict.]

Friday 12 November 1971 A Dutch seaman was shot dead by Republican paramilitaries in Belfast. It was announced that the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was to be given automatic weapons
to protect police stations.

Monday 22 November 1971 A member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) was killed in a premature bomb explosion in Lurgan, County Armagh.

Monday 24 November 1971 A woman was killed when members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) carried out an attack on British soldiers in Strabane, County Tyrone. A British Army (BA) bomb-disposal specialist was killed by a bomb in Lurgan, County Armagh.

Thursday 25 November 1971 Harold Wilson, then leader
of the Labour Party, proposed that Britain should work towards
a withdraw from Northern Ireland, with the consent of Protestants,
after a period of 15 years. As part of the proposal the Republic
of Ireland would rejoin the British Commonwealth.
[ Political Developments. ]

Saturday 27 November 1971 Two Customs officials, Ian Hankin (27) a Protestant and James O'Neill (39) a Catholic, were
shot by an Irish Republican Army (IRA) sniper who fired upon a British Army (BA) patrol investigating a bomb attack on a Customs Post near Newry, County Armagh. A British soldier was shot dead in Belfast.

Tuesday 30 November 1971 The government of the Republic
of Ireland stated that it would take the allegations of brutality
against the security forces in Northern Ireland to the European
Court of Human Rights.

Thursday 2 December 1971 A teenage girl died four days after being shot during a gun attack on members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC).

Saturday 4 December 1971McGurk's Pub Bombing Fifteen Catholic civilians were killed when Loyalist paramilitaries exploded a bomb at The Tramore Bar, better known as McGurk's bar, in North Queen Street, north Belfast. The bomb had been planted by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). Four of those killed were women (including the owner's wife and 14 year old daughter). [This attack was one of the worst single incidents during the Northern Ireland conflict. Only one of the bombers, the driver of the getaway car, was ever convicted. Immediately after the bombing, and for some time later, the security forces and various official sources maintained that the bomb had gone off inside the bar, implying that it was being prepared by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and thus represented an 'own goal'.]

Monday 6 December 1971 A woman died trying to salvage property from the Salvation Army Citadel in Belfast when a wall fell on her. Earlier there had been a bomb which started a large fire in an ajoining building. Brian Faulkner, then Northern Ireland Prime Minister, met with Reginald Maudling, then British
Home Secretary, in London.

Tuesday 7 December 1971 An off duty member of the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) was shot dead by members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in County Tyrone.

Wednesday 8 December 1971 Sean Russell (30), an off duty member of the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR), was shot dead by members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in his home in Ballymurphy, Belfast. [Russell was the first Catholic member of the UDR to be killed in the conflict.] A British soldier died found days after being shot in Belfast.

Friday 10 December 1971 Kenneth Smyth (28), a Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) member, and Daniel McCormick (29), a former
UDR member, were killed by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) near Strabane, County Tyrone. A man was shot dead by British soldiers in Belfast.

Saturday 11 December 1971 The Irish Republican Army (IRA) killed four Protestant civilians in a bomb attack on a furniture
shop on the Shankill Road in Belfast. Two of those who were killed in the explosion were children. The dead were: Hugh Bruce (70), Harold King (29), Tracey Munn (2) and Colin Nicholl (1).

Sunday 12 December 1971 John (Jack) Barnhill, then a Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) member of the Northern Ireland Senate,
was shot dead by the Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA) at his home in Strabane. He was the first politician to be killed in the conflict.

Saturday 18 December 1971 Three members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), James Sheridan (20), John Bateson (19)
and Martin Lee (19), were killed when the bomb they were transporting exploded prematurely in King Street, Magherafelt, County Derry. A man was killed in a bomb attack in Belfast.